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The SNP leadership race dominates the headlines in Scotland. The Scottish Mail on Sunday reports that Kate Forbes “plans to destroy Nicola Sturgeon’s legacy” by scrapping the bottle return scheme. The newspaper also said Ms Forbes would block her party’s proposed ban on alcohol advertising, which she fears would weaken the whiskey industry.
Scottish ministers have been called on to halt a controversial deposit refund scheme following an inquiry by Scotland on Sunday that found the owners of a company tasked with collecting and sorting billions of bottles and cans each year are a “big climate polluter”. The article also includes a photo of the Scottish players preparing for the crucial Six Nations match against France in Paris.
The Sunday Post interviews Kate Forbes where she says the Scots are “not ready” for another independence referendum. Ms Forbes is running alongside health secretary Humza Yousaf and former community safety minister Ash Regan in the race to replace Nicola Sturgeon as SNP leader and first minister.
Meanwhile, The Herald reports that Muslim leaders intervened in the SNP leadership contest, describing the debate over religious beliefs as “deeply disturbing”. The Mosque Association has expressed concern about the “tone and tone” of the leadership race, but will not support any candidate, according to the newspaper.
The Scottish Sun reports that SNP leadership candidate Ash Regan would let former First Minister Alex Salmond into the party if elected. In March 2021, Salmond launched his own independence-minded Alba party.
The Sunday National says Yousaf is set to “accelerate” his independence campaign by holding regional assemblies across the country. The newspaper says it has also described the party’s coalition deal with the Scottish Greens as “at a premium”.
Police questioned senior members of the SNP over allegations of fraud days before Nicola Sturgeon’s shock resignation, Sunday Mail reports. The paper said former treasurer Douglas Chapman had spoken to detectives and other key figures had been contacted in connection with an investigation into claims of £600,000 of missing referendum money – code-named Operation Branchform.
The main story of the Scottish Daily Express is the discovery of two bodies after a major search operation for the missing crew of a tugboat after it capsized near Greenock, Inverclyde on Friday.
And the Sunday Telegraph says Rishi Sunak is set to drop Boris Johnson’s NI Protocol Bill, which gives the UK government the power to break parts of its current deal with the EU as part of its new deal with Brussels. Writing to the newspaper, Mr Sunak says the bill has always been “a last resort”.
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